Label printer



A. R. BONE LABEL PRINTER April 23, 1968 2' Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 22, 1965 WWW % INVENTOR.

37120121! 1?. fimze BY MM YM April 23, 1968 A. R. BONE 3,379,128

LABEL PRINTER Filed Oct. 22, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,379,128 LABEL PRINTER Arnold R. Bone, Needham, Mass, assignor to Dennison Manufacturing Company, Framingham, Mass., a corporation of Nevada Filed Oct. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 501,422 3 Claims. (Cl. 101-292) ABSTRACT OF THE DESCLQSURE Cyclic apparatus comprising a head movable back and forth between printing and retracted positions once during each cycle, rotary means for actuating the head, means for stopping the head at the end of each cycle, and means including a counter for starting the head recnrrently.

This invention relates to printers of the type having a platen and a printing head movable back and forth between the platen and a retracted position, with means for feeding articles to be printed, such as tags or labels, to the platen between printing operations. More particularly the invention relates to dial-set printers in which the type is carried on coaxial wheels or belts trained over coaxial wheels with means for turning the wheels selectively to set the type as desired. In such printers it is desirable to set the type while the head is in retracted position and to hold the head in fixed position While setting the type.

Objects of the present invention are to provide a printer which is simple and economical to produce, which holds the head in fixed position while being reset, and which is convenient in operation.

According to this invention the printer comprises a platen, a printing head, rotary motive means including a slip clutch for moving the printing head back and forth between the platen and a retracted position once during each recurrent cycle, an abutment on the motive means, a stop movable from an inoperative position to an operative position in the path of said abutment to cause said clutch to slip, first means including a counter for holding the stop in inoperative position until the last cycle of a predetermined number of cycles, and second means continuing to hold the stop in inoperative position, after being released by said first holding means, until the end of said last cycle. In a more specific aspect said last means comprises a cam on the motive means, and the motive means includes a driving rotor which makes a plurality of revolutions during each cycle and a driven rotor which makes a lesser number of revolutions per cycle, preferably only one, said abutment being on the driving rotor and said cam being on the driven rotor. The preferred embodiment is characterized by a second abutment on the motive means facing in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation and a second stop engageable by the second abutment to prevent retrograde movement of the motive means when stopped by said first stop.

For the purpose of illustration a typical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is a side view with the printing head in printing position;

FIG. 2 is a similar view with the printing head in retracted position; and

FIG. 3 is a diagram of the essential parts of the apparatus.

The particular embodiment of the invention chosen for the purpose of illustration comprises a hollow frame 1 containing a roll of tag stock T which feeds over a roller 2 by means of a feed pawl 3 to a platen 4 where each successive tag is printed by a printing head 6 which moves 3,379,128 Patented Apr. 23, 1968 back and forth between the printing position shown in FIG. 1 and the retracted position shown in FIG. 2. The printing head is mounted on a slide 7 actuated by an eccentric 8 connected to the slide by a pivot pin 9. The eccentric comprises a disk 10 fast to one side of a gear 11, preferably by being formed integrally therewith, the center of the disk being located at 13 off-center from the shaft 14 which interconnects eccentric 8 at the back of the machine with the gear 11 at the front of the machine. The gear 11 is driven by a gear 16 on shaft 17 which is driven by motor M. The feed pawl 3 is actuated by an arm 21 pivoted to the frame at 22 and connected to the eccentric by a link 23.

According to this invention the printing head may have any suitable construction. The particular construction shown in the illustration is the same as in my copending application Ser. No. 488,462, filed Sept. 20, 1965, but inasmuch as the present invention is independent of this particular construction its description need not be repeated here. Suffice to say it is of the so-called dial-set type in which the type is set by turning dials while the printing head is in the retracted position shown in FIG. 2. While setting type the head should be held firmly in retracted position so that pressure on the head does not turn the driving mechanism either forwardly or backwardly.

In accordance with the present invention a disk 24 is mounted on the shaft 17, the disk having a shoulder engageable with a stop 27 controlled by magnet 28. The shaft 17 is driven by motor M through a slip clutch 29. While the slip clutch may be of any suitable construction it is preferably of the well-known spring type and operates directly on the disk 24. Fast to the gear 11 is another disk 31 having a shoulder engageable with a spring stop 32 held against the periphery of the disk by its resiliency. In the illustration the shaft 17 makes seven revollutions in turning the gear 11 through one revolution. Inasmuch as the printing head is moved through one complete cycle from the retracted position shown in FIG. 2 to the printing position shown in FIG. 1 and thence back to the retracted position shown in FIG. 2, during the one revolution of the gear 11, the shaft 17 makes seven revolutions during each cycle.

Mounted on frame 1 is a counter 39 which is actuated once during each cycle by an arm 41 and a hook 42 engageable by the printing head as it moves from retracted to printing position.

As shown in FIG. 3 the motor M is energized through a circuit 43 connected to a source of current 44 through a switch 46. The magnet 28 is energized from the same source through switch 46, switches 47 and 48 in parallel and circuit 49. Switch 43 is controlled by magnet 51 connected to source 44 through switches 46, 47, 48, 52 and 53 and conductor 54. Switch 53 is located in box 56 and is controlled by counter 39 through a cam 57 having a recess to receive the actuator 58 of switch 53. To set the machine for a certain number of printings the cam 57 is turned from the zero position shown in FIG. 3 to the desired number and when the machine is started by switch 4-7 the counter steps the cam back toward zero position one step for each printing cycle so that the switch 53 is opened after the machine has made the predetermined number of printings, thereby stopping the machine.

In operation the motor M is started by closing switch 46. If a single printing is desired the cam 57 is left in zero position with the switch 53 open and the switch 47 is closed momentarily to energize the magnet 28. This moves the stop 27 out of engagement with the disk 24 permitting the motor to drive the shaft through the slip clutch 29. After the gear 16 has made seven revolutions and the gear 11 has made one revolution the gear 16 is stopped by engagement of stop 27 with the shoulder on 3 disk 24 thus causing the clutch 29 to slip and bringing the machine to a stop. When the magnet 28 is de-energized after the momentary closing of switch 47 the stop 27 rides on the periphery of the disk 26 during the remainder of the cycle. The stop 32 engages the surface of the disk 31. continuously. As shown in FIG. 3 the peripheral surfaces of disks 26 and 31 have the same radius throughout most of their circumferences but the radius of 26 is reduced throughout a portion of its circumference (the lower right-hand portion in FIG. 1 and the left-hand portion in FIG. 3) to permit the stop to engage the disk 24 at the end of a cycle. The portion of disk 26 having reduced radius is short enough to prevent stop 27 moving into the path of the abutment until after the beginning of the last revolution of 26 in a cycle.

If more than a single printing is desired the counter 57 is turned to the desired number of printings thereby closing switch 53. The switch 47 is then closed as before to start the machine. Closing the switch 47 also energizes the magnet 51 to close a holding circuit for the magnet 28 through 44, '46, 48 and 49. After the predetermined number of printings the counter 57 returns to zero position, thereby opening switch 53, de-energizing magnet 51 and breaking the holding circuit at 48. This releases 27 to stop the machine at the end of the last cycle of the predetermined number of cycles.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the printer includes motive means including a slip clutch 29, an abutment on the disk 24, a stop 27 movable from the inoperative position shown in FIG. 1 to the operative position in the path of the aforesaid abutment (FIGS. 2 and 3) to cause the clutch to slip, first means including counter 39, switch 53 and magnet 28 for holding the stop 27 in inoperative position until the last cycle of a predetermined number of cycles, and second means (disk 26) continuing to hold the stop in inoperative position, after being released by magnet 28, until the end of the last cycle.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention 4 includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A printer comprising a platen, a printing head, motive means for moving the printing head back and torth between printing position adjacent the platen and a retracted position once during each recurrent cycle, said motive means including a driving rotor which makes a plurality of revolutions during each cycle and a driven rotor which makes a lesser number of revolutions per cycle, and a slip clutch, an abutment on the motive means, a stop movable from an inoperative position to an operative position in the path of said abutment to cause said clutch to slip, first means including a counter for holding the stop in inoperative position until the last of said plurality of revolutions, and second means including a cam for continuing to hold the stop in inoperative position, after being released by said first holding means, until the end of the last of said revolutions, said abutment being on the driving rotor and said cam being on the driven rotor.

2. A printer according to claim 1 wherein the driven rotor makes one revolution per cycle.

3. A printer according to claim 1 further characterized by a second abutment on the motive means facing in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation and a second stop engageable by the second abutment to prevent retrograde movement of the motive means when stopped by said first stop.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 956,476 4/1910 Buck 101--199 2,108,850 2/1938 Fromm 101-316 X 2,622,804 12/1952 Hamisch 101-322 X 3,220,531 11/1965 Higonnet 197-84.1 710,997 10/1902 Pitney l01--79 ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner.

F. A. WINANS, Assistant Examiner. 

